Young Preservationists

Maddie Gregurek focused her National History Day project on Theodore Roosevelt's leadership and legacy in the conservation movement.

Early this year, high school freshman Maddie Gregurek entered Iowa’s National History Day regional competition (a preliminary round of the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest). Maddie took the competition’s theme, “Leadership and Legacy,” and focused her project on Theodore Roosevelt’s role in the conservation movement.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Jamesha Gibson is an Editorial Intern at the National Trust. She is passionate about using historic preservation as an avenue for underrepresented communities to share their unique stories. Jamesha also enjoys learning about other cultures through reading, art, language, dancing, and especially cuisine.

Preservation expert Steve Stier mentors some of the students from SEEDS Youth Conservation Corps.

Located on the coast of Northwest Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has long been a favorite vacation spot for families throughout the state. The picturesque shoreline area, named “The Most Beautiful Place in America” by ABC’s Good Morning America in 2011, boasts many attractions including wineries, water-sports, shopping and camping. But last month, a group of young people made this familiar June pilgrimage with a different kind of summertime activity in mind: historic barn preservation.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Tom Wall is the Associate Manager of Community Outreach. His background includes television production, journalism, nonprofit communications, and marketing. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Tom is a graduate of the George Washington University, with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication.

The crew members, most of them current college students or recent graduates, spent their summer documenting, cleaning, stabilizing, and painting historic structures. They spent most of their time at Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec (KEP), a former camp constructed by Boy Scouts of America in the 1930s.

I was able to catch up with a few of the tired but happy crew members to talk about what they are taking away from their experience. The corpsmembers learned firsthand that preservation work isn’t always glamorous; they removed a LOT of debris from some of the structures that have been vacant for a few years -- and they had fun doing it!... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Members of Historical Good, top row, from left: Kayleigh Travins, Margo Boland, Maggie Shoemaker, and Sophia Brady; bottom row: Bridget Brady. Not pictured: Jen Fox, who was away at camp.

For a group of teenagers in Southborough, Massachusetts, summer vacation came with a mission: saving a 167-year-old mansion.

Known as the Burnett/Garfield House, the Second Empire-style stone structure at 84 Main Street was built c. 1847 as the home of businessman Joseph Burnett and his wife, Josephine. Burnett, an active town leader, created the first liquid vanilla extract commercially produced and sold in the United States.

When it was reported earlier this summer that the mansion’s current owner was considering selling it to a developer who would seek demolition, a group led by local teenagers Bridget Brady, 14, and Jen Fox, 15, rallied to save the 2 ½-story structure, which requires sizable repairs.

“Everything else is fixable,” Brady says, “but demolition isn’t.”

Late last month, in the wake of the group’s protests, the current owner decided not to move forward on the sale. The story isn’t over, though. A full renovation is estimated to cost upwards of $1.5 million.

But given the outpouring of local support to save the house, led in large part by this group of teenagers, the future of the house looks significantly brighter.

We spoke with Bridget Brady, who’s starting her freshman year of high school this fall, about the history of the Burnett/Garfield House and why she felt compelled to save it.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Members of the Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia helped rehabilitate the Skyland Stable, built in 1939, at Shenandoah National Park earlier this year as part of the National Trust's HOPE Crew initiative.

Less than three months later, however, the once-dilapidated stable looked much as it did when it was built in 1939, thanks to the young corpsmembers who trained alongside preservation professionals to conduct a large-scale rehabilitation of the property.
... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

The PreservationNation blog features stories, news, and notes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation as well as the wider preservation movement. Have a great story to share? Email us! And visit PreservationNation.org to learn more about people saving places.

The Fine Print

While the writers of the PreservationNation blog are on staff at the National Trust for Historic Preservation or affiliated organizations, their posts are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.